Noticing that Kiriha was looking at her card, Koutarou approached her.
“You're still carrying that thing around?”
“This is my― ,no, this is Kii's treasure after all”
A lot of people were focused on Sanae and Yurika. Nobody was looking at Koutarou and Kiriha. That's why Kiriha responded with her personality from ten years ago, though more accurately it was now eleven years ago.
“Then keep it tucked away somewhere safe”
“Are you embarrassed?”
“... Yeah”
With a slight blush, Koutarou nodded. In response, Kiriha cheerfully smiled.
“Because when I'm looking at this card, it's like I'm saying I'm in love with Onii-chan after all”
Koutarou felt precisely the way Kiriha had said.
He had been told that the silvery card was one of Kiriha's precious mementos from long ago, he had even heard the detailed circumstances around it. But it wasn't until this year that he learned that it was actually he himself who had given that card to Kiriha during his travels to the past.
As a result, he was well aware what kind of emotions Kiriha was feeling as she stared at the card. That's why the pubescent boy part of Koutarou couldn't help but feel embarrassed.
“If you get it then put it away”
“Okay. I'm a good woman, so I won't do anything that would trouble Onii-chan”
While Kiriha happily looked at the troubled Koutarou's expression, she pushed the card in her hand back into her pocket. She then turned the gaze she had when staring at the card to Koutarou.
“H-Hey...”
”Fufufu...”
Kiriha no longer needed to pour her emotions into that card since the person they were directed towards was right in front of her. Kiriha didn't hesitate to redirect those feelings right at him. That gaze full of love and trust troubled Koutarou even more than before.
What should I do with her... well, I guess I should call the end results good...
Koutarou had brought Kiriha with him on this beetle hunt because she hadn't been able to get any rest lately as problems in the underground was taking all of her time. He wanted her to forget about all those problems for today and just take it easy.
“By the way, we walked in the forest just the two of us ten years ago as well”
“That's true. But we're looking for beetles today, not stars”
“I'm sure we'll find lots of them. We found the star too after all”
“I hope so...”
Kiriha smiled like she did ten years ago, and held hands with Koutarou like she had back then. Koutarou was embarrassed by that, but when he thought of it as a compensation for her smile, he quietly held her hand back.